Ronald Dennis, of Syracuse, is a formerly incarcerated New Yorker and leader with VOCAL-NY, a statewide organization that builds power among low-income people directly impacted by HIV/AIDS, the drug war, mass incarceration and homelessness..
No one can change their past, but everyone can change their future with enough work. I know because I did it myself. Yet, there are still so many people incarcerated, particularly Black and brown men, who are being denied parole again and again, despite their work to improve their lives. New York state is allowing a select group of people with slanted judgments to warehouse its citizens, rather than recognize the potential each individual has and the work they’ve done. My story is proof that people can change, and everyone should get the chance to prove it.
The person I was when I was first incarcerated is a stranger to me now. When I was first incarcerated, I didn’t care that I’d been sentenced to live behind bars for the foreseeable future. It wasn’t just that I was resigned to my conviction; I saw a longer sentence as a bigger badge of honor. But that changed. It didn’t happen overnight, but I was able to unlearn so much of the thinking that landed me where I was.
My time incarcerated gave me a chance to help myself, and eventually, others around me. I became a peer counselor and facilitated others with the same personal growth I was working on. Being honest with myself and others around me made me stronger — not weaker. With time, I was able to get my GED and associates degree from Clinton Community College. Having these accomplishments on my resume were certainly a benefit to my parole board hearing, but it was the entirely new person standing in front of them that I was most proud of.
It wasn’t my first time in front of the board that I was granted parole — they apparently took it upon themselves to extend the sentence the judge gave me. But I’m grateful that the parole board was finally able to see the changes I had made to my life. Not everyone is so lucky, despite the work they put in. Too often, people facing the parole board are seen just for their past, not who they are today. But New York has the power to change that.
On Wednesday in Albany, lawmakers in the New York state Senate held a hearing to discuss parole reform and what it could mean for our state. If our lawmakers were to pass two parole reform bills this session — Fair and Timely Parole and Elder Parole — New York can update its parole laws to consider the time and effort that’s gone into changing the future. If our state continues to overlook the personal rehabilitation incarcerated individuals are doing, then what’s encouraging others to do the same?
New York state needs a parole board that understands that not everyone in prison needs a life sentence to turn themselves around. If prison is meant to teach people a lesson about their crimes, we need a parole system that recognizes when that lesson has been learned. We can’t continue to have incarcerated people repeatedly denied all opportunities to prove themselves. We can’t keep having peoples’ parole denied because the board can’t see past their mistakes.
My time incarcerated helped me learn so much because I put it to good use. The truth is that prison isn’t made to rehabilitate people, but like so many others behind bars I overcame the challenges imposed by the system because I turned the mirror on myself. I realized that I failed to get my GED not because I was stupid, but because I was wasting my time on stupid things. I began to understand how the abuse in my childhood shaped the way I walked around in the world. I recognized that I wasn’t a failure, but I also wasn’t living up to my promise. Most importantly, I realized I could do something about it.
Now, it’s time New York parole boards give credit where credit is due, and give people a chance to show they’ve changed. Just like I did.
Related: NY Senate committee considers bills on ‘death by incarceration’